Published: Monday, November 4, 2013 at 12:52 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, November 4, 2013 at 12:52 a.m.

LAKELAND | Shannon Shepp needs challenges.

Facts

Shannon Ross Shepp

Age: 44.Birthdate: April 17, 1969.Birthplace: San Diego, Calif. Raised in Clearwater.Parents: William "Bill" and Doris Hankins Ross of Clearwater.Job: Deputy Executive Director for Operations and Research, Florida Department of Citrus, Bartow.Annual Salary: $130,000.Education: 1991, associate's degree, St. Petersburg Junior College; 1994, bachelor's degree in mass communication, University of South Florida.Family: Husband, David Shepp, 42, a principal at Florida Strategic Group LLC in Lakeland, which lobbies state government; son, William, 13, seventh-grader at Resurrection Catholic School in Lakeland.Greatest accomplishment: Motherhood.Car: 2007 Volkswagen EOS.Hobbies/interests: Any sport William plays, reading and politics.Favorite meal: Steak night Sunday (family dinners).Favorite book: Malcom Gladwell, "Outliers: The Story of Success."Favorite author: Patricia Cornwell.Favorite movie: "Angels in the Outfield," 1994. ("It could happen.")Favorite television show: "West Wing," "Mad Men" or anything thought-provoking.Favorite song/musician: "Brown-Eyed Girl," Van MorrisonMost memorable moment: Standing outside the top of the U.S. Capitol dome with my family in July.Bad habit: Messy desk.Pet peeve: Hasty judgment.Quote: "We ain't leaving without a victory. We ain't leaving without a victory! So, y'all; Hey, my brothers, put a smile on your face, OK? Because Florida (Citrus), if we going to do it, then we do it big. Let's go baby! Let's fight!" — slightly amended quote from Jameis Winston, quarterback of the Florida State University Seminoles, delivered to his team in the locker room before its 51-14 victory over the No. 3 Clemson University Tigers on Oct. 19. It hangs on Shepp's office wall.

When she finds herself adrift in her job, her career or her life, Shepp's response to challenges set her on the right path.

Perhaps the best example occurred in 1990, when Shepp, then 21, had dropped out of Troy University in Alabama and was working as a file clerk at an insurance company.

At the family's traditional Sunday night steak dinner, her mother, Doris Ross, related a recent conversation with Shannon's aunt, Donna Ross of Brandon, who wondered what her niece, who appeared to be "floundering," was going to do with her life.

Shepp had the same recollection, adding that she stood up immediately and fled to her room.

"I couldn't speak I was so angry," Shepp said. "Within the next week, I signed up for classes (at St. Petersburg Junior College). My attitude was, 'I'll show her.'"

Now, Shepp, 44, realizes her Aunt Donna spoke out of genuine concern and that she needed the gentle kick in the hindquarters.

"To this day, Aunt Donna gets all the credit for getting my tush in gear," she said.

What followed were two college degrees and a career that ended in her current job as deputy executive director for operations and research, the second-highest executive position at the Florida Department of Citrus, a state agency that promotes Florida citrus products.

Previously, she served as deputy commissioner of agriculture, one of the top executive posts at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Her parents acknowledged they sometimes shared the concern about their only child's future, but they also believed she would succeed ultimately.

"She had the puzzle pieces if she could just put them together," Doris Ross said. "We were always confident Shannon would put them together."

Shannon Ross Shepp was born April 17, 1969, in San Diego to William "Bill" and Doris Hankins Ross. Her father was a lieutenant and supply officer in the U.S. Navy at the time.

Her parents, both originally from Lakeland, moved to Clearwater when she was an infant. Her father joined an accounting firm there.

Most longtime Lakelanders would recognize the paternal side of her family, which includes U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, and Larry Ross, a business professor at Florida Southern College. Both are her uncles.

Shepp and her childhood friend, Charlene Dowding, 43, now of Grand Island, Neb., described living a typical West Coast Florida lifestyle of hanging out at the beach, boating and going to Disney World.

"She's a great friend. We had lots and lots of laughs together," Dowding said. "We were destined to share each other's sarcasm, and we still do."

A formative experience growing up was watching her mother successfully juggle family, school and then career responsibilities, Shepp said.

After working as an office assistant for a local plastic surgeon, Doris Ross decided to return to school and get a nursing degree, said Shepp, who was a preteen at the time. She became a registered nurse at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, eventually rising to director of the operating room until she retired in 2004.

"She's a rock star," her daughter said. "She showed me you can do anything once you make up your mind to do it."

It was that second part that didn't come readily, Shepp acknowledged.

Another turning point came at age 16, when she attended a weekend retreat through the local Roman Catholic church. It was a weekend of "deep reflection on faith, good judgment and the people in my life," she said.

Shepp grew closer to her faith and her parents, who participated in the retreat by re-affirming their love and support "no matter what happens in my life," she said.

Shepp also decided to leave her public school and entered Clearwater Central Catholic High School in her junior year, graduating in 1987. The Catholic Church has played a central part in her life since then.

"The Church became a place of comfort for me," Shepp said.

Her grades at Central Catholic enabled her to get a journalism scholarship at Troy University, said Shepp, who acknowledged she didn't keep pace with the academic demands there. She left Troy after the first quarter of her sophomore year.

THE COLLEGE CHALLENGE

Her experience at Troy led to another challenge after graduating St. Petersburg Junior College with an associate's degree in December 1991. Shepp enrolled at the University of South Florida to pursue a degree in public relations, but the School of Mass Communications initially rejected her because it required at least a 3.0 grade point average for admission.

"I cried from USF to Clearwater," she said.

But she won an appeal, in which she took full responsibility for her academic record and committed to improve in her public relations studies if given the chance, Shepp said. True to her word, she got A's and B's at USF and graduated in May 1994 with a bachelor's degree in mass communications.

That landed Shepp in her family's hometown, Lakeland, where she got a job as public affairs manager at Florida Citrus Mutual, the state's largest growers' representative. There was no more backtracking from that point.

"I definitely felt she was more comfortable with her direction in life," said her aunt, Therese Arrington, 55, of Lakeland, who babysat Shepp when she was a child and gave her a room for those first weeks at Citrus Mutual until she found an apartment. "She was eager, ready to take this on."

Arrington recalled how excited and "dressed for success" Shepp was on the morning of her first day on the job.

"It was very evident she had the capability and the determination to succeed," said Bobby McKown, then Citrus Mutual's chief executive. "She lacked the experience, but I believed she would develop, and it worked out fine."

Although she had worked in various jobs since age 16, Shepp credited McKown with teaching her the professional skills that would serve her later.

"I honestly don't think I'd be here today if not for him," she said of McKown.

One big lesson concerned the importance of timeliness, Shepp and McKown agreed.

Both recalled one day in her first weeks when Shepp arrived in the office 15 minutes late from the 8:30 a.m. starting time. That never happened again after McKown called her promptly into his office and announced she should take the day off without pay if it happened again, they said.

McKown also helped Shepp overcome another bad habit, procrastination, they agreed. That was particularly important because Shepp wrote and edited "The Triangle," Citrus Mutual's weekly newsletter that went out to more than 10,000 members.

"She was an excellent writer," McKown said. "When you have a deadline, you know what that deadline is, and you have to amend your schedule to meet it. She learned to execute."

A LOVE OF POLITICS

Uncle Dennis Ross ignited an interest in politics at age 13, when she became involved in a local campaign for the state House of Representatives, Shepp said. She also worked actively in Dennis Ross' first unsuccessful campaign in 1996 for the Florida Senate.

Shepp got her first full-time exposure to state politics in May 1997 when she became government affairs director for the Polk County Builders Association. That led a year later to work as a legislative assistant to then state Rep. J.D. Alexander of Lake Wales, who later moved to the Senate.

During that time, she met David Shepp, who worked as a state government lobbyist and shared her passions for politics and family. They met at Molly McHugh's Irish Pub in Lakeland, where they talked mostly politics until 2 a.m., she said.

"After that night, that was pretty much it," said Shepp, referring to her single life.

They married a year later on Nov. 27, 1999. Their only child, William, arrived on Oct. 12, 2000.

Being a mother is her most important job in life, Shepp said. A major reason she left her job as deputy commissioner of agriculture in July is that it required too many trips to Tallahassee, taking time away from William, from her main office in Winter Haven.

"Shannon Shepp was a great member of the team, and she left behind big shoes to fill," said Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam. "I have no doubt she'll be a great asset to the Department of Citrus."

[ Kevin Bouffard can be reached at kevin.bouffard@theledger.com or at 863-401-6980. Read more on Florida citrus on his Facebook page, Florida Citrus Witness, http://bit.ly/baxWuU. ]

<p>LAKELAND | Shannon Shepp needs challenges.</p><p>When she finds herself adrift in her job, her career or her life, Shepp's response to challenges set her on the right path.</p><p>Perhaps the best example occurred in 1990, when Shepp, then 21, had dropped out of Troy University in Alabama and was working as a file clerk at an insurance company.</p><p>At the family's traditional Sunday night steak dinner, her mother, Doris Ross, related a recent conversation with Shannon's aunt, Donna Ross of Brandon, who wondered what her niece, who appeared to be "floundering," was going to do with her life.</p><p>"It crushed her," Doris Ross recalled. "It made her angry. She cried."</p><p>Shepp had the same recollection, adding that she stood up immediately and fled to her room.</p><p>"I couldn't speak I was so angry," Shepp said. "Within the next week, I signed up for classes (at St. Petersburg Junior College). My attitude was, 'I'll show her.'"</p><p>Now, Shepp, 44, realizes her Aunt Donna spoke out of genuine concern and that she needed the gentle kick in the hindquarters.</p><p>"To this day, Aunt Donna gets all the credit for getting my tush in gear," she said.</p><p>What followed were two college degrees and a career that ended in her current job as deputy executive director for operations and research, the second-highest executive position at the Florida Department of Citrus, a state agency that promotes Florida citrus products. </p><p>Previously, she served as deputy commissioner of agriculture, one of the top executive posts at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.</p><p>Her parents acknowledged they sometimes shared the concern about their only child's future, but they also believed she would succeed ultimately.</p><p>"She had the puzzle pieces if she could just put them together," Doris Ross said. "We were always confident Shannon would put them together."</p><p>Shannon Ross Shepp was born April 17, 1969, in San Diego to William "Bill" and Doris Hankins Ross. Her father was a lieutenant and supply officer in the U.S. Navy at the time.</p><p>Her parents, both originally from Lakeland, moved to Clearwater when she was an infant. Her father joined an accounting firm there.</p><p>Most longtime Lakelanders would recognize the paternal side of her family, which includes U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, and Larry Ross, a business professor at Florida Southern College. Both are her uncles.</p><p>Shepp and her childhood friend, Charlene Dowding, 43, now of Grand Island, Neb., described living a typical West Coast Florida lifestyle of hanging out at the beach, boating and going to Disney World.</p><p>"She's a great friend. We had lots and lots of laughs together," Dowding said. "We were destined to share each other's sarcasm, and we still do."</p><p>A formative experience growing up was watching her mother successfully juggle family, school and then career responsibilities, Shepp said.</p><p>After working as an office assistant for a local plastic surgeon, Doris Ross decided to return to school and get a nursing degree, said Shepp, who was a preteen at the time. She became a registered nurse at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, eventually rising to director of the operating room until she retired in 2004.</p><p>"She's a rock star," her daughter said. "She showed me you can do anything once you make up your mind to do it."</p><p>It was that second part that didn't come readily, Shepp acknowledged.</p><p>Another turning point came at age 16, when she attended a weekend retreat through the local Roman Catholic church. It was a weekend of "deep reflection on faith, good judgment and the people in my life," she said.</p><p>Shepp grew closer to her faith and her parents, who participated in the retreat by re-affirming their love and support "no matter what happens in my life," she said.</p><p>Shepp also decided to leave her public school and entered Clearwater Central Catholic High School in her junior year, graduating in 1987. The Catholic Church has played a central part in her life since then.</p><p>"The Church became a place of comfort for me," Shepp said.</p><p>Her grades at Central Catholic enabled her to get a journalism scholarship at Troy University, said Shepp, who acknowledged she didn't keep pace with the academic demands there. She left Troy after the first quarter of her sophomore year.</p><p>THE COLLEGE CHALLENGE</p><p>Her experience at Troy led to another challenge after graduating St. Petersburg Junior College with an associate's degree in December 1991. Shepp enrolled at the University of South Florida to pursue a degree in public relations, but the School of Mass Communications initially rejected her because it required at least a 3.0 grade point average for admission.</p><p>"I cried from USF to Clearwater," she said.</p><p>But she won an appeal, in which she took full responsibility for her academic record and committed to improve in her public relations studies if given the chance, Shepp said. True to her word, she got A's and B's at USF and graduated in May 1994 with a bachelor's degree in mass communications.</p><p>That landed Shepp in her family's hometown, Lakeland, where she got a job as public affairs manager at Florida Citrus Mutual, the state's largest growers' representative. There was no more backtracking from that point.</p><p>"I definitely felt she was more comfortable with her direction in life," said her aunt, Therese Arrington, 55, of Lakeland, who babysat Shepp when she was a child and gave her a room for those first weeks at Citrus Mutual until she found an apartment. "She was eager, ready to take this on."</p><p>Arrington recalled how excited and "dressed for success" Shepp was on the morning of her first day on the job.</p><p>"It was very evident she had the capability and the determination to succeed," said Bobby McKown, then Citrus Mutual's chief executive. "She lacked the experience, but I believed she would develop, and it worked out fine."</p><p>Although she had worked in various jobs since age 16, Shepp credited McKown with teaching her the professional skills that would serve her later.</p><p>"I honestly don't think I'd be here today if not for him," she said of McKown.</p><p>One big lesson concerned the importance of timeliness, Shepp and McKown agreed.</p><p>Both recalled one day in her first weeks when Shepp arrived in the office 15 minutes late from the 8:30 a.m. starting time. That never happened again after McKown called her promptly into his office and announced she should take the day off without pay if it happened again, they said.</p><p>McKown also helped Shepp overcome another bad habit, procrastination, they agreed. That was particularly important because Shepp wrote and edited "The Triangle," Citrus Mutual's weekly newsletter that went out to more than 10,000 members.</p><p>"She was an excellent writer," McKown said. "When you have a deadline, you know what that deadline is, and you have to amend your schedule to meet it. She learned to execute."</p><p>A LOVE OF POLITICS</p><p>Uncle Dennis Ross ignited an interest in politics at age 13, when she became involved in a local campaign for the state House of Representatives, Shepp said. She also worked actively in Dennis Ross' first unsuccessful campaign in 1996 for the Florida Senate.</p><p>Shepp got her first full-time exposure to state politics in May 1997 when she became government affairs director for the Polk County Builders Association. That led a year later to work as a legislative assistant to then state Rep. J.D. Alexander of Lake Wales, who later moved to the Senate.</p><p>During that time, she met David Shepp, who worked as a state government lobbyist and shared her passions for politics and family. They met at Molly McHugh's Irish Pub in Lakeland, where they talked mostly politics until 2 a.m., she said.</p><p>"After that night, that was pretty much it," said Shepp, referring to her single life.</p><p>They married a year later on Nov. 27, 1999. Their only child, William, arrived on Oct. 12, 2000.</p><p>Being a mother is her most important job in life, Shepp said. A major reason she left her job as deputy commissioner of agriculture in July is that it required too many trips to Tallahassee, taking time away from William, from her main office in Winter Haven.</p><p>"Shannon Shepp was a great member of the team, and she left behind big shoes to fill," said Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam. "I have no doubt she'll be a great asset to the Department of Citrus."</p><p>[ Kevin Bouffard can be reached at kevin.bouffard@theledger.com or at 863-401-6980. Read more on Florida citrus on his Facebook page, Florida Citrus Witness, http://bit.ly/baxWuU. ]</p>